New militancy: Recent strikes in the broader provincial public sector by 13,000 university teaching assistants and Community Care Access Centre employees (mostly RNs) suggest increased willingness of some broader public sector employees to strike to maintain and improve their working conditions. Moreover the workers achieved some success in their strikes. In the health care . . . → Read More: Defend Public Healthcare: Collective bargaining in Ontario: New trends, new possibilities

Conservatives often suggest that public sector settlements are out of whack with private sector settlements.

In fact, the evidence from Ontario over the last couple of decades proves the opposite. Public sector settlements have fallen behind private sector settlements. Here is the data from the Ontario Ministry of Labour:

Conservatives often suggest that public sector settlements are out of whack with private sector settlements.

In fact, the evidence from Ontario over the last couple of decades proves the opposite. Public sector settlements have fallen behind private sector settlements. Here is the data from the Ontario Ministry of Labour:

Earlier I noted that while the provincial government was imposing concessions (and wage freezes) on unionized public sector workers, the Conference Board of Canada was predicting 2.7% increases for non-union employees in Ontario in 2013 (up from 2.6% actual increases in 2012).

In December, it was predicted that outgoing finance minister Dwight Duncan would reduce his deficit forecast just before his departure (for Bay Street). Duncan had somehow estimated in his fall economic statement that the 2012-3 deficit would be $14.4 billion, i.e. higher than the 2011-12 deficit — and even higher than the 2010-11 deficit!

The $1.4 billion in, mostly corporate, taxes that the Ontario Liberal government plans to walk away from (according to Auditor General), is exactly equal to the amount of money Finance Minister Dwight Duncan claims he absolutely has to save in the in the first year of the so called “provincial compensation . . . → Read More: Defending Public Healthcare: What’s $1.4 B? Well, it all depends who you are…

It’s a sign of our times when a simple labour agreement can be framed as a political triumph. The latest is news the Ontario Medical Association reached a deal with the provincial government this week on behalf of 25,000 doctors. … Continue rea… . . . → Read More: OPSEU Diablogue: OMA Deal: Surprise! Bargaining works

Both of the key architects of the Liberal government’s attack on free collective bargaining are as good as gone. McGuinty will be gone January 26 and Finance Minister Dwight Duncan has indicated he will likely be gone from the Finance Ministry right about the same time.

Before the Liberals started attacking collective bargaining, they proposed a wage freeze in the summer of 2010. The unions duly met with the government over the summer of 2010 to discuss this. While there was no agreement, settlements funded by the province have now moderated significantly. But since that time the Liberals have sharpened their . . . → Read More: Defending Public Healthcare: Politics, not deficits, behind attack on collective bargaining

No surprise here — but the bosses of the for-profit corporations that provide long term care and home care services funded by the public sector are excluded from the Protecting Public Services legislation proposed today by the Liberal government (as set out in schedule 1 of the Public Sector Compensation Restraint Act, 2012).

It’s not often that Ontario hospitals express opposition to government policy publicly. But the government’s new cap on public sector executive pay of $418,000 (annually) has caused them to come out and release a public statement expressing their “extreme disappointment.”

The Ontario government claimed in July that the first year of its so-called “compensation freeze” would save $1.4 billion. It now claims that the province’s results for the 2011-12 fiscal year were $3.3 billion ahead of the plan projected in the 2011 Budget. This, the government says, will result in absolutely no change in their . . . → Read More: Defending Public Healthcare: Is the Ontario government fiscal crisis phony?

Last week Dalton McGuinty hinted that he would bring in legislation affecting collective bargaining across the public sector and now the Globe and Mail reports the government “plans to introduce legislation that would freeze wages for all workers who bargain collectively in the public sector.”

Dalton McGuinty has once again inserted himself into the collective bargaining process and given the union representing over 11,000 “professional” and “supervisory” civil servants until September 9th to settle their collective agreement. Or else. The government and the union, AMAPCEO, have been in bargaining since July 3. Apparently, the government believes two months is enough . . . → Read More: Defending Public Healthcare: McGuinty: a second legislative attack on collective bargaining?

Dalton McGuinty has craftily stoked his campaign to change the rules for interest arbitration — the system imposed on essential service workers who are forbidden by law from striking to settle collective bargaining disputes.